The rat and the mouse are very similar animals that are often confused due to the great similarities that exist between them, even though they are really different animals.
Although both animals are very similar physically, they are from the same animal kingdom of mammals and have very similar habitats, there are key differences between them that make them totally different species with differences that are really very important differences between them.
These differences must be studied with due care since only some of these differences are visible to the naked eye, requiring a great capacity for observation and great knowledge to detect other differences between them.
We are going to see all the differences between the rat and the mouse, so that you are always clear about what they are and never confuse them again if you see them out there, since they really are different animals.
What do you need to differentiate the rat from the mouse?
- Observation capacity.
Instructions to differentiate the rat from the mouse
- Size: The first difference that we can directly appreciate between the rat and the mouse is their size, since it is the first thing that we are going to see and what is going to make the difference between one and the other. The mouse is usually much smaller than the rat, with a size that fits inside the palm of the hand. The rat, on the other hand, usually has a variable size, being able to reach rats the size of small breed dogs, being almost 10 times larger than small mice.
- Physical traits: Aside from the size issue, there are also other key differences in physical traits. The first of all is the tail, in which the tail of the rat is much larger than that of the mice, being proportionate to the physique of the rats. On the other hand, on the subject of ears, the ears of mice are much larger than rats, which is strange since it would have to be the other way around if the size were proportional, something similar happening to the eyes that are smaller than those of mice in proportion to size. The snout of rats is usually much more proportional to its size, being a much larger and longer snout than that of mice.
- Food: Mice are animals that are normally herbivorous, that is, they are animals that should be fed with plant species. Rats, on the other hand, are animals that like to eat practically anything, whether they are meat products or vegetable products such as lettuce or tomato, being a completely omnivorous animal that is capable of eating anything.
- In society: Another of the great differences between these two animals is the perception that society has about them, having a different vision about rats and mice that are totally opposite. In the first place, rats are associated with dirt, evil (when you call someone who has betrayed you or has a bad attitude towards you a rat), they are associated with the transmission of diseases, poverty, and filth and places in general very dirty like the sewers. As for mice, they have been luckier, as they are associated with playfulness, small, adorable and affectionate, such as Mickey Mouse.
Tips to differentiate the rat from the mouse
- If you want some good tips to drive away rats, here we leave you these Home Remedies.
- How many species of mouse and rat are there?: Only there is not a single species of mouse or a single species of rat, since there are enough species of both that there are many variants between the same animals of the species in question. There are more or less 60 different species of rats, with large variations in size between them, the most important examples being the black rat and the brown rat. As for mice, there are only 30 different types of mice, highlighting the common house mouse that we all know what it is like.
- Distinguish them with the naked eye: To distinguish these species with the naked eye, you must take into account the advice given in this article and mix them with a great capacity for observation. The first thing is to look at the size and shape of the snout, which if it is elongated in a more or less large animal, we will know for sure that it is a rat. The second difference that we can notice with the naked eye is the place where it is, since rats usually live in dirty places and mice can do it but it does not have to be that way.
